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forecast

/ˈfɔɹkæst/verb, noun

forecast is spelled F-O-R-E-C-A-S-T: 8 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 12 times per million words in written English, the 6,138th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, forecast means “To estimate how something will be in the future” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in forecast?

Letters8: F-O-R-E-C-A-S-T
Syllables2 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing12 times per million words; the 6,138th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is forecast?

Forecast appears 12 times per million words in written English, the 6,138th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce forecast?

  • UK /ˈfɔːkɑːst/
  • US /ˈfɔɹkæst/
  • Australia /ˈfoːkɐːst/

Forecast has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-forecast.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of forecast

  • forecasts present, singular, he/she/it, plural
  • forecasting participle, present
  • forecasted participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does forecast mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

verb

  1. 1

    To estimate how something will be in the future.

    to forecast the weather, or a storm

  2. 2

    To foreshadow; to suggest something in advance.

  3. 3

    obsoleteTo contrive or plan beforehand.

noun

  1. 1

    An estimation of a future condition.

  2. 2

    A prediction of the weather.

    The forecast said it'll be blowy tomorrow

  3. 3

    exacta

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Forecast in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchprévoir, pronostiquer (estimate future conditions), prévision (estimation of future condition)
Germanvorhersagen, prognostizieren (estimate future conditions), Schätzung, Vorhersage, Prognose (estimation of future condition)
Portugueseprever (estimate future conditions), previsão (estimation of future condition)
Spanishpronosticar (estimate future conditions), pronóstico, vaticinio (estimation of future condition)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does forecast come from?

From Middle English forecasten, forcasten, equivalent to fore- + cast. The noun is from Middle English forecast, forcast.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

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